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Poor health represents a major factor of exclusion from the labour market due to the influenceit exerts on early retirement. A key issue for policy makers is how to maintain the worker withresidual potentialities in active life and at the same time cope with the difficulties the workerand employer come up with continued presence in the workplace.The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the barriers but also of the facilitatorsenhancing reintegration outcomes for chronically sick and absent workers. Without such anunderstanding, it is difficult to design and develop appropriate and transferable interventionsand approaches. Cancer is addressed as a specific long-term illness throughout the study, inorder to delimit, and, at the same time, concretise issues and proposals. The study also intendsto highlight the characteristics of national legislations concerning support for workers withlong-term illnesses to regain, where possible, social inclusion and integration in the labourmarket. The different schemes and approaches applied across the Member States are analysedto point out the level and duration of social protection of sick workers as well as how differentcountries support the workers' wages and previous standard of living during and after sickleave. The study also intends to analyse 'return to job' problems, policies and forms ofreintegration of workers.

The aim of this paper is to sum up the main issues at stake in the European Union, concerning gender equality in social inclusion and social protection policies. As is well known "Equality between women and men" is one of the founding principles of the Treaty of the European Union. However, despite progress made over past decades, gender inequalities are still persistent in a number of spheres. Poverty is increasingly feminised and especially affects single mothers and elderly women. Gender inequalities, however, are also persistent among other groups facing social exclusion, for example immigrants, ethnic minorities and the disabled. This means that there are differences in the causes, extent, and form of social exclusion experienced by women and men. The paper, introduced by an overview of primary gender gaps, focuses on specific issues in the three policy areas where the promotion of gender equality would be particularly important: social inclusion, pensions, health and long-term care. Special attention is devoted to empowerment policies, integrating several welfare domains and distinctive approaches. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This study sets out to analyse the social and legal situation of the Roma and the policies of inclusion adopted in the European Countries with particular attention to those fostering accessto the labour market. To address these issues the study outlines the legal and socio-economic condition of the Roma Community across Europe, providing a brief overview of the maincharacteristics of a population composed of sub-communities with some common features butwith different historic and cultural backgrounds. The study focuses more on the differencesbetween the communities than on the similarities. As the aim of the study is to offersuggestions and policy options, it is worth pointing out that policies designed to take thesedifferences into account have better chances of being accepted by the communities, and soproving more effective, than 'generic' polices for 'the Roma'. For example, policiesaddressing isolated and rural communities of illegal Roma have to consider specific issuesdifferent from those for urban Protestant Roma legally resident in the country and vice versa.Specific attention is paid to the legal status of the Roma, as it is highly differentiated acrossthe European Member States and within each country according to the specific group considered.

Violence against women is the single most prevalent and universal violation of human rights. It knows no geographical boundaries, no age limit, no class distinction, no cultural or racial differences and it has strong implications for gender equality, social inclusion and health. The elimination of gender-based violence is a priority area of the European Commission's Women's Charter adopted in March 2010 and of its Strategy for equality between women and men adopted in September 2010 (1 ), which express the Commission's commitment to propose an effective and comprehensive strategy to fight violence against women. While the primary responsibility to combat violence against women is of the Member States, the European Union has a strong role to play via Council conclusions (2 ), resolutions by the European Parliament (3 ), funding support, awareness-raising activities and the promotion of exchanges of good practices, to name but a few of its undertakings. In European countries the political commitment to combating violence against women has increased over the last decade, thanks to the strong commitment and actions of the international institutions, women's movements and NGOs. This is evident in the improvements in both data availability and the legislative and policy measures adopted in the 33 countries considered in this report. However, there are still many weaknesses and loopholes in the way violence against women is presented in the social and political debate and in the ways it is addressed. ; peer-reviewed

The existing evidence suggests that ethnic minority and especially Roma women are the most vulnerable to multiple discrimination and present higher risks of social exclusion and poverty than the women of the native population and minority men. There are, however, differences in the social and economic conditions of women among and within ethnic minorities and across European countries that should be considered in order to frame suggestions for policymaking. This comparative report presents the socio-economic conditions and perspectives of women belonging to disadvantaged ethnic minorities, with special attention to Roma women. The analysis focuses on those ethnic minorities that suffer the most disadvantages in a given national context, mainly in terms of access to education, housing, healthcare, social benefits, and to employment and financial services. The report also presents the main legislative and policy responses developed at the national level to target their social inclusion with some good practice examples. The information in this report is provided by the national experts of the EGGSI Network of experts in gender equality, social inclusion, healthcare and long-term care and covers 30 European countries (EU and EEA/ EFTA) (1 ). The report is organised in two parts: Part 1 (from Chapter 1 to 4) presents the situation of women belonging to disadvantaged ethnic minorities in general, while Part 2 (from Chapter 5 to 8) focuses on Roma women. Some overall conclusions are presented in the final chapter. ; peer-reviewed

While healthcare systems have contributed to significant improvements in health in Europe, access to healthcare remains uneven across countries and social groups, according to socioeconomic status, place of residence, ethnic group, and gender. Gender plays a specific role both in the incidence and prevalence of specific pathologies and also in their treatment and impact in terms of well-being and recovery. This is due to the interrelations between sexrelated biological differences and socioeconomic and cultural factors which affect the behaviour of women and men and their access to services. This comparative report presents the main differences in the health status of women and men in European countries and examines how healthcare and long-term care systems respond to the specific needs of women and men in ensuring equal access. It considers the main financial, cultural and physical barriers to access and provides good practice examples of healthcare promotion, prevention and general treatment programmes, as well as of long-term care. The information in this report is mainly provided by the national experts of the EGGSI network of experts in gender equality, social inclusion, healthcare and longterm care and covers 30 European countries (EU-27 and EEA/EFTA)( 1 ). Available comparative statistical data from Eurostat and OECD sources have also been considered. ; peer-reviewed